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Stern to Pass Ball, Setting End Date on Tenure

Commissioner David Stern, right, said he would step down Feb. 1, 2014, to be replaced by the deputy commissioner, Adam Silver.Credit
Kathy Willens/Associated Press

David Stern’s long, storied, occasionally polarizing tenure as N.B.A. commissioner will come to a close on Feb. 1, 2014, exactly 30 years after it began. When the moment arrives, he will hand the reins to Adam Silver, his handpicked heir.

The date and the succession plan were set Thursday by Stern and approved by the league’s board of governors during a meeting in Manhattan. The retirement announcement was not surprising: Stern had telegraphed his intentions several times over the last year, with only the timeline left unsettled.

“I decided that things are in great shape, and there’s an organization in place that will ultimately be led by Adam, that is totally prepared to take it to the next level,” Stern, 70, said in a news conference after the owners meeting.

Stern said the time was right to step away, citing the N.B.A.’s improved profitability and competitiveness, its growing influence around the globe and the strength of its digital platforms. He also said he would continue to advise the 50-year-old Silver and the owners even after he relinquishes his title.

Silver, who has served as deputy commissioner the past six years, now carries the title of commissioner-elect, having received the unanimous support of the board of governors to succeed Stern. Negotiations will begin soon on Silver’s contract.

Silver said, “The opportunities for this league are limitless, truly limitless, and I’m honored, thrilled.”

Stern said he picked his retirement date for sentimental reasons — to coincide with his anniversary as commissioner. By the time he steps down, he will have become the longest-tenured commissioner in professional sports history, surpassing Pete Rozelle, who retired as N.F.L. commissioner in November 1989, two months shy of 30 years.

Stern is often regarded as the greatest commissioner, for transforming the N.B.A. from a fringe league whose playoffs were shown on tape delay to a $5 billion global enterprise, with games televised in 215 countries and territories.

The N.B.A. has added seven franchises since Stern became commissioner on Feb. 1, 1984. Its television revenue has increased more than 40-fold in that time, to nearly $1.3 billion. The average player salary has grown to $5 million, from $250,000 in 1984. The league now has offices in 15 global markets.

“There is no debate that David Stern has earned his spot in the pantheon of sports commissioners,” Billy Hunter, executive director of the National Basketball Players Association, said in a statement. “Deservedly, his name and reputation will always be synonymous with the phenomenal growth and success of the N.B.A. over the last three decades.”

Stern “has set the standard, not only for the N.B.A., but for all of the sports,” said Glen Taylor, the Minnesota Timberwolves’ owner and the chairman of the league’s board of governors.

Silver praised Stern as a chief executive “who turned sports leagues into brands” and “one of the great business leaders of our time.”

Yet Stern will also be remembered for the costly labor battles that led to the cancellation of games in the 1998-99 and 2011-12 seasons. The N.B.A. barely salvaged a 50-game season in 1999 and played a 66-game schedule last season. Critics, including those who sat across from Stern in labor negotiations, view him as arrogant and imperious.

Last year’s lockout stretched for 149 days but resulted in a labor deal that will save N.B.A. owners some $3 billion in player salaries and benefits over 10 years. Either side can opt out of the deal in 2017.

Silver, Stern’s heir apparent for some time, received Stern’s public endorsement in February, at All-Star weekend. They worked hand in hand on the new collective bargaining agreement.

Silver joined the N.B.A. in 1992 and worked in a variety of roles, including eight years as the chief operating officer of N.B.A. Entertainment, before rising to deputy commissioner in July 2006, after the departure of Russ Granik. Silver was instrumental in negotiating the last two national television deals and in the development of the W.N.B.A. and the N.B.A. Development League.

“Adam has the respect of the owners and the players,” Stern said. “He has expertise in the very important areas of social media, international and television, all of which report to him.”

Peter Holt, the San Antonio Spurs’ owner, said hiring Silver as the new commissioner was “a no-brainer.” Holt also took on a new title Thursday, when he was elected the chairman of the board of governors.

The board’s other major piece of business was the approval of the sale of the Memphis Grizzlies to a group headed by Robert Pera, the chief executive of Ubiquity Networks. Minority partners include the entertainer Justin Timberlake and Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning.

With 15 months to go, Stern was not in a particularly reflective mood Thursday. He touched only briefly on his legacy. But he singled out the 1992 Olympic basketball team, the first to include N.B.A. players, as a high point. His lowest moments, he said, had to do with ending players’ careers — a broad reference to the drug-related suspensions he handed down early in his tenure.

Otherwise, Stern called his time as commissioner “a series of extraordinary experiences.”

A version of this article appears in print on October 26, 2012, on page B15 of the New York edition with the headline: Stern Will Pass the Ball, Setting an End Date. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe